Monday, July 24, 2017

Kangaroo Cocktails

As you know, Bob, space tourism features pretty heavily in both of my Kangaroo books: the first one takes place mostly on an interplanetary cruise spaceship, and the second book sees Kangaroo going undercover as a civilian on the Moon.

And, of course, tourism often involves drinking. Like modern cruise ships, the Dejah Thoris in Waypoint Kangaroo encourages its passengers to imbibe early and often; and the Hotel Tranquility in Kangaroo Too boasts a well-stocked, all-hours lobby bar (liquor laws are a little looser on Luna). I have been known to take a drink now and then, myself, and I had fun writing some beverage-fueled encounters into both books.

Enter my friend Huw Evans, one of the workshop administrators for Clarion West (the writing boot camp I attended in 2014) and a real-life cocktail enthusiast, among other things. I had the wacky idea to ask him if he wanted to actually come up with a recipe for the vaguely described "Zero-Gravity Football" drink from Waypoint Kangaroo, and he did! So of course I also asked him to do the same for Kangaroo Too this year, for the unnamed cocktail that Kangaroo shares with Breyella Wilgus in chapter eight.

The point of all this is to say that it's nice to have people who support your wacky ideas and help you celebrate things. I look forward to many more book launches, readings, and afterparties with Huw and my other Seattle-area friends.

Below you'll find the complete recipes for both Kangaroo cocktails. Enjoy in good health and good company!